All News

Term 6 News

DEBBIE IS RAISING MONEY FOR FRIENDS OF AVONMOUTH CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Please click on the above link and read all about Debbie's challenge and how you can support her.

SCHOOL GATEWAY

We are pleased to inform you that we have introduced a new service called "School Gateway" which allows us to share information with you more quickly via email, text, online and smartphone app. It also enables parents and carers to pay for school lunches and give consent for activities through their School Gateway account.

To start using School Gateway please visit the websitewww.schoolgateway.com and click on New User. You will receive a text message with a PIN number which will allow you to log in. Alternatively if you have a smartphone, you can download the app from your app store which will show you the same information as the website.

We hope that all parents and carers will start to use School Gateway as it is a great way to keep up to date with what's going on at school and an easier way to make payments.

REPORTS

The end of year reports were sent home last week. We hope parents enjoyed reading about their children's achievements and also the children's own reviews of the year. We would welcome parents to complete and return the comment form included with your child's report. Please can parents send the form back acknowledging receipt of the reports with any comments by Wednesday 18th July.

LEAVER'S SERVICE

This week we say goodbye to the Year Six children and wish them all the very best for the future. They have been a brilliant group of children who have worked really hard, especially this year. We wish them all every success for the future as they move on to Secondary School in September. We will have the chance to celebrate their time here at Avonmouth CE Primary school on Thursday this week at their Leaver's Assembly. We hope that parents and carers of Year Six children will join us from 1.45pm.

KS2 DISCO

We will be holding the KS2 disco on Thursday 19th July from 6.00pm - 7.30pm in the school hall. Details about tickets were sent home last week. All KS2 children welcome. Tickets are £2 and will be on sale in breakfast club and after school from Monday.

SUMMER FAIR

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We are starting the countdown towards this year's Summer Fair! The Fair will be on Wednesday 4th July 3.30-5pm.

If you are able to volunteer to help with either the preparations, at the fair or with clearing up, your help would be greatly appreciated.

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WHAT AN EXCITING WEEK!

Children across the school had a very exciting enrichment week last week! Tuesday, saw the children in Reception, Year 1, 2 & 3 enjoying tennis lessons from a specialist coach from the British Lawn Tennis Association. The children in Year 4 visited Mojo Active for the first of our 3 trips there last week.

On Wednesday, Y3 went to Mojo. The children in Y5 did a ‘Play in a Day’ with a director from Act On Info Theatre Company. This was fully funded by the school in order to provide this exciting opportunity for the children based on British Values. We hope to share some of this with parents at the Class Worship led by Y5 on 5th July.On Thursday it was the turn of the Year 5 to visit Mojo Active. The children in all 3 classes had the opportunity to take part in the assault course and low ropes. The cost of this trip was heavily subsidised by the school using Sports Premium funding.On Friday, we had the Explorer Dome in school. This was another amazing opportunity for the children across the whole school (reception to Year 5) to enjoy the Energy Show all about the Earth, energy, sustainability and renewables. The show took place inside a dome and was very exciting. This was fully funded by Thrive Renewables who operate some of the wind turbines in Avonmouth as it was Global Wind Day on Friday. An enormous thank you to them for providing such a brilliant opportunity for the children. I am sure your children will be keen to share what they learnt in the dome

HOT WEATHER

As you will know, the forecast is for very warm weather this week and next. Please ensure children come to school with: a hat, water bottle and sun cream applied. They are also welcome to bring sun cream in to reapply themselves during the day. We have reminded children about keeping safe in the sun and will ensure that they play in the shade during lunch times as much as possible

SPORTS DAYS

We held our Sports Days last week for Nursery, Key Stage One and Key Stage Two.

Children across the school thoroughly enjoyed themselves and should be tremendously proud of their achievements. It was fantastic to see the children taking part, having a go and trying their best. My thanks to all the parents, carers and some grandparents too who came along to support the event and help cheer the children on!

UPDATE RE. SCHOOL PACKED LUNCHES

School packed lunches were very popular option with the children last week.We kindly ask that parents discuss the menu with children so that they know what the sandwich filling for the day is. They will also be reminded in class.There is only one option available each day for the sandwich or wrap filling. If your child does not like the option available they should choose a different lunchoption for that day – either hot school meal, jacket potato or salad bar. Please clickhere for Menus.

YEAR SIX CAMP

The children in Year 6 had an amazing week last week on their residential visit to Barton Camp. There was a whole host of exciting activities for the children including: kayaking, tobogganing, a falconry display, swimming, archery, shelter building and disc golf!

The children (and staff) arrived back at school exhausted on Friday! They had enjoyed a fantastic week and some brilliant weather too.

UNIFORM

As we are now in the second half of the summer term, hopefully the weather will remain warmer. In the summer term, children are able to wear school shorts or skirts (black or grey) or summer dresses. We have noticed some children wearing leggings and short leggings. This is not school uniform. We kindly ask that parents ensure their children come to school in the correct uniform. In addition, some children have been wearing boots or slip on shoes. As you will appreciate, wearing correct footwear to school is extremely important and helps children to play safely at playtimes and lunchtimes. Heeled, slip-on, backless or open toed shoes should not be worn. Children are expected to wear either black shoes or trainers (no boots).

We do understand that there are occasionally good reasons why a pupil is not wearing correct uniform. In this case, we ask that parents speak to Mrs McMahon or Mr Land.

There are a large number of children who do wear correct uniform and we are extremely grateful for your support.

YEAR SIX CAMP

Next week, the children in Y6 will be off on their residential trip to Barton Camp. This year, the camp is being led by Mr Land and he is being joined by Miss Beatty and Mrs Webb. Throughout the week, other members of staff will also be joining the camp.

The Y6 camp is an excellent opportunity for children to experience an exciting range of activities including kayaking, archery and bush-craft. These adventurous activities take place under the instruction of Mendip Outdoor Pursuits instructors who lead the activities.

We do hope the weather is good and that everyone has an excellent week.

DAISY'S NURSERY

From September, our school nursery will be known as Daisy's Nursery as the staff and governors thought it would be lovely if it had its own name as well as being part of the school. The name "Daisy's" was chosen as the daisy logo is part of our school Vision and encompasses our Christian Values.

We are delighted that from September we will be offering parents greater flexibility regarding places in the nursery. Parents can choose 2.5 days, 5 half days or a mixture of the two. We also offer 5 full days for those children eligible for 30 hours funding.

Any parents who would like full days but who are not eligible for the funding, are able to pay for the additional sessions (above the 15 hours of free universal nursery funded sessions). For further information, please speak to our Early Years Leader, Pollyanna.

Term 5 News

30th BIRTHDAY PARTY

This academic year, we are proud to have been able to start offering 30 hours of free childcare to eligible families. This also coincides with our Nursery being in its 30th year, so we have decided to mark the occasion with a 30th Birthday party!

The Nursery children (with a little help from Mrs McMahon and Miss Pearman) will be leading a special assembly on Thursday morning at 9am and we warmly welcome all Nursery parents to attend. The Nursery children will then enjoy some party activities and we hope to have cake for everyone in school to help celebrate this important milestone!

We would love to hear from you if you or your children attended our nursery. We will also have a display in the hall on Thursday after school

YEAR SIX SATs

We were immensely proud of all the Year Six children last week. they showed remarkable maturity in their attitudes to the tests. Their level of concentration and commitment to trying their best was outstanding. They are an amazing group of children who demonstrate the values and high expectations of the school.

ROYAL WEDDING

It was lovely on Friday to see everyone dressed up in red, white and blue as we prepared to celebrate the Royal Wedding on Saturday. Children across the school created their own commemorative plates for the occasion and took part in various activities throughout the week in their class

YR 5 AND 6 NETBALL

Last week, an enthusiastic team of children from Year 5 and 6 went to Nova Primary School to take part in a High Five netball match. After a few pre-match nerves, the match started. It was divided into quarters, each lasting five minute so every member of the team got a chance to play at least twice. The team played really well, demonstrating good communication, teamwork, skills and courage. Although the final score was 6-0, everyone really enjoyed the experience. The team consisted of Angel, Ashton, Jack, Pavan, Anna, Lily, Isobelle, Ruby and Trinity.

COMMUNICATION

We have been experiencing some technical issues with our email and text service over the last week. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused. The school newsletter is posted on the school website every week with up to date information and dates. We always strive to ensure parents are informed of any additional information or changes (where necessary) by text or email.If your details have changed recently, please do ensure you let the school office know.

KEY STAGE ONE SATs

We will be holding an information session about the key stage one statutory assessments (SATs) for parents of children in Y2 on Wednesday 25th April at 3pm in the school hall.

EASTER FUNDRAISING

Last term, thePTFA worked extremely hard putting on a variety of Easter and fund raising activities for children to take part in including: an Easter raffle, cake sales, Bake-Off (KS2), Easter Gardens and Bonnets competitions (KS1 & EYFS). Thank you for all the children and families that took part. All together we raised £241 for the school.

The PTFA have been able to buy a range of new equipment for the playground including skipping ropes, hula hoops, space hoppers and other bouncing equipment.

WELCOME BACK

This week we welcome Miss Tector back to school following her maternity leave. Miss Tector is returning as Inclusion Leader in school and will be non-class based.

Miss Pearman has now permanently taken on the role of Early Years Leader in school. She continues to teach in Nursery.

SPORTS RELIEF

At the end of last term we took part in the 'Sport Relief Billion Step Challenge'. As a school we achieved approximately 1.5 million steps and raised £712.26. This is an incredible achievement. Thank you for your support.

AFTER SCHOOL CLUBS - SUMMER TERM

After such success with clubs in the Spring Term we are delighted to be able to offer a range of after school clubs FREE OF CHARGE to parents across this term. The school funds all of our extra-curricular clubs which is an amazing and unique opportunity for children to be involved in. Please look out for the letter coming home this week with further details in order to sign up for a place.

Term 4 News

Y1 & Y2 TRIP TO THE CATHEDRAL

This week, the children in Y1 & Y2 will be visiting Bristol Cathedral and taking part in their Easter Trail.

SPORT RELIEF

This week we will be working together to raise money for Sport Relief. Children and staff will be walking around the playground aiming to walk a collective 1,000,000 steps! This is an excellent way for us all to live out our Christian value of Koinonia as we work together to raise money for charity.

Children came home with sponsorship forms last week. Please return completed forms in to school (with monies raised) by Friday.

EASTER SERVICE

On Tuesday afternoon we had a fantastic Easter Service. As the church is currently out of action we tried something new. All the classes performed or delivered a part of the Easter story as the others sat around. All classes were brilliant. A special mention to a really moving portrayal of Good Friday from Year 6.

Reverant Andy taught us about the significance of Easter for Christians. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful afternoon.

EASTER SERVICE

We are holding our Easter Service in School on Tuesday 20th March. As St. Andrew's Church is still being renovated we are unable to hold it in the Church this year and due to limited space in our school hall, we are unable to invite parents on this occasion.

SPORTS RELIEF

We are very excited to have signed up to Sports Relief this year which will take place from 17th-23rd March. If there are any parents/carers who are keen to help or take part in our Sport Relief week then please let the office know.

WORLD BOOK DAY

Last week we celebrated World Book Day. Children and staff came to school dressed as a book character. We had a special assembly let by Mrs Wood (our Literacy subject leader) where we looked at some of the costumes and staff read some poetry to the children. There was even a book quiz where children looked at parts of the front covers of books and guessed the titles and authors. At lunchtime we had a book swap and after school we held a book sale.

Thank you to all the parents who came along to support the book sale.

SCHOOL CHOIR SING AT THE COMMUNITY CENTRE

On Thursday last week, the School Choir walked to Avonmouth CE Community Centre and performed to the 'Thursday Lunch Club'. The staff at the Community Centre were delighted to hear the children sing so beautifully.

PARENT SURVEY

Thank you to all the parents who completed one of our parent surveys at parents' evening last term. We had an amazing 108 families who responded!

The response was overwhelmingly positive with the vast majority of parents agreeing or strongly agreeing with the statements. We were delighted that parents recognise the strengths of the school and that children feel safe and happy. 97% of parents reported that their children feel safe and 98% thought that their child is well looked after. The majority of parents (97%) were also pleased about the effectiveness of communications between home and school - this is an area we have been focusing on.

WORLD BOOK DAY

On Friday 2nd March we will be celebrating World Book Day. We are inviting the children to dress up as a book character for the day and have lots of exciting activities planned for the children across the day. We will also be holding two book events on the day:

Book Swap - if children have a book at home that is in good condition that they don't want any more, they can bring it along to swap for another book that someone else will have brought it. Please can parents ensure that children bring the completed permission slip from the letter that went home last week in with them in order for them to be able to take part.

Book Stall - we will also be holding a book stall after school selling second hand children's books for amazing prices. If you would like to donate books for this please give them to your child's class teacher. Money raised will be used to buy new books for the children so please come along and support this.

GOVERNOR UPDATE

At the end of term, we said thank you and goodbye to Mrs Sach who stepped down from our Governing Body and her role as Chair of Governors. Mrs Sach has worked with us for the last couple of years. She dedicated a considerable amount of time to school including joining us on school trips, meetings with the School Council and attending many of our events as well as leading the Governing Body! We wish her all the very best for the future and thank her for being part of our school community.

Term 3 News

YEAR SIX CLASS WORSHIP

Year six's class worship included some fantastic performances of the children's dances that they have been working on with our sports coaches on Wednesday afternoons this term. Congratulations to all the children in Year Six.

SCIENCE WEEK

Science week started with Rachael Rocket from the Mad Science team leading an exciting assembly and a range of workshops across the school. During the week, children took part in a range of science activities in different classes. Each class also studied a famous scientist and shared what they had learnt in a special assembly on Friday.

COLLECTIVE WORSHIP

The collective worship team have been putting together our Class Worship Chests.

The senior members of the Collective worship team have been collating ideas for our new School prayer.

The School prayer project was launched in December and all children were consulted. The worship Committee have discussed the content and style.

YEAR TWO CLASS ASSEMBLY

A very big well done to all the children in Year 2 for a brilliant assembly. The children shared a huge amount of learning from different areas of the curriculum including some amazing art work and reciting a fantastic poem.

SCIENCE WEEK

We have our special Science Week this week! Throughout the week we will be having a particular curriculum focus on Science. Teachers have planned an exciting range of activities and learning experiences for the children including workshops and an assembly from the Mad Science team.

We are all looking forward to an exciting week!

YEAR 4 CLASS ASSEMBLY

What a brilliant start to the new year with Year 4's class assembly last week. They have been learning all about the Ancient Egyptians and delighted the rest of the school and parents with lots of information and fantastic singing!

SCIENCE WEEK

We are holding a special Science Week next week. Throughout the week we will be having a particular curriculum focus on Science with a range of exciting activities and learning experiences for the children.

NEW RECEPTION CLASS ADMISSIONS - SEPT 2018

Do you have a child who is due to start school in September 2018? The deadline for applications is 15th January 2018.

30 HOURS

It was very exciting in the Nursery last week as we have now started offering 30 hours places. This means that some children now stay for the whole day. It was a fantastic start to the term and the children thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We have been delighted by the number of parents who have chosen to take up a 30 hours place in our nursery.

If you would like to find out more about the eligibility for 30 hours, please either speak with our Early Years Leader (Pollyanna Pearman) or visit: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

WELCOME

This week we welcome two new members of staff. Mr Stuart Napier will be teaching in Year Three until Mrs Appleton returns from maternity leave in April. We also welcome Miss Fitzgerald who is our new Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA).

Term 2 News

NURSERY 30 HOURS

From the start of term 3, we are delighted to be able to offer 30 hours free childcare in our nursery to eligible parents and carers.

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

We have our Christmas lunch on Wednesday 13th December.

If your child would like to have a Christmas lunch please can you complete the form and return to school. We kindly ask that parents advise us in advance if their child will be having Christmas lunch and ensure payment is sent in with the form.

No payment is required for children entitled to free school meals or children in Reception and KS1. However, we would appreciate the form in order for us to book you a school lunch on that day.

PANTOMIME

We had a fantastic time at the Pantomime last week! A very big thankyou to all of you for supporting the PTFA events across the course of the year which raised the necessary funds to pay for the trip to the Pantomime and to the PFTA for the tremendous hard work throughout the year.

CHRISTMAS FAIR

A big thank you to all the PTFA, parent helpers and staff who gave up so much of their time to plan, prepare and lead a fantastic fair on Wednesday last week.

We raised a fantastic £550.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

The children and staff have been working really hard all term and this is reflected in the progress children have made. The outcome of our Ofsted inspection in October was something for everyone to be particularly proud of. We hope everyone has a lovely Christmas and enjoys the holidays. We look forward to the New Year and continuing to see the school flourish!

KS2 CAROL SERVICE

Due to the current renovations at St Andrew's Church, this years choir service was held here at Avonmouth CE Primary School.

PANTOMIME

We're going to the panto on Thursday and will be leaving school at 9.15am and returning at 1pm.

The children will require a packed lunch that day. School packed lunches need to be ordered ahead of Thursday, please let the school office know by Tuesday at the latest.

WELCOME MRS O'CONNOR

I am delighted to inform you that we have a new office administrator. Mrs Kim O'Connor has joined our office team. Mrs O'Connor has previously been working in the school as both and SMSA and our Resource Assistant. We do therefore have two vacancies. Please contact Mrs Armstrong (School Business Manager) or click here if you would be interested in either of these opportunities.

CHRISTMAS FAIR

We are looking forward to our Christmas Fair on Wednesday this week and do hope that you will come along to support it.

A reminder that we kindly ask for NO BUGGIES at the fair due to limited space. There will be a buggy park outside.

To say thank you for children bringing any donations for the Christmas Fair this week, they will be invited to wear non uniform on Wednesday - preferably (but not necessarily) a Christmas top or jumper!

GOODBYE TO MRS COPELAND

This Thursday we say our goodbyes to Mrs Copeland. Mrs Copeland has worked at Avonmouth CE Primary School for 31 years. She is a fantastic member of our admin team and will be sorely missed.

I am sure that parents will want to join us in saying thank you to her for everything she has done for the school and to wish her the very best for the future and a happy retirement.

BOOK FAIR & BOOK AT BEDTIME

We had an incredible response to Book at Bedtime last week with over 70 children arriving in pyjamas ready to join in the fun! We sold books at Book at Bedtime and throughout the week and raised a fantastic £100 commission which we are able to use to buy new books for the school.

ROAD SAFETY

We are focusing on Road Safety this week which will include children learning about how to keep safe around traffic, looking at the Green Cross Code and the importance of wearing seat belts.

If you would like to help your child learn more about road safety at home, we recommend looking at the government website http://think.direct.gov.uk. The website has interesting games and activities for children of all ages.

For advice on responsibilities for parents and advice about car seats and other safety aspects, have a look at www.think.direct.gov.uk.

NURSERY

The children in Nursery had a fantastic time enjoying balance bikes with Hiba from 'Balance Buddies' on Wednesday. They learnt about safety with particular attention to wearing helmets and using space with care and awareness.

CHILDREN IN NEED

Last Friday we all came to school wearing something spotty and with our £1 donations in order to support Children in Need. We raised a fantastic £340!

BOOK FAIR & BOOK AT BEDTIME

The Book Fair is in school this week. Children will have an opportunity to visit during the week and the Book Fair will also be open after school every day this week in the school/dining hall for parents and carers to buy books.

We will also be having our annual Book at Bedtime Evening during the Book Fair week which will be held on Wednesday 15th November. A separate letter was sent out - please click here to view it.

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK

This week is Anti-Bullying Week, where children, schools, parents and carers come together with one aim: to stop bullying for all.

This year the focus is: All Different, All Equal. Mr Barlow led an assembly to introduce Anti-Bullying week and to start the children thinking about what makes us all special and unique. Anti-bullying is something that is always important to us. Our recent Ofsted inspection noted that:

"Pupils have a clear understanding on bullying and say that it does not happen often and that it would be sorted out briskly".

"Pupils say that they feel safe in school. They are clear that they know whom to talk to if they have a worry or concern & that adults will quickly help them".

OFSTED INSPECTION

As you will be aware, the school had an Ofsted inspection on Tuesday 10th October 2017. I am delighted to announce that the school was judged to be 'Good'.

As it was a one day inspection, we received a letter about the outcome. (Schools receive a full report with a two day inspection). If you would like to view the letter it is now available on the Ofsted website: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk

EASY FUNDRAISING

Throughout the year we try to raise as much money as we can for the school through events such as fairs, discos and other fundraising activities. It is now possible for you to help us raise money for the school every time you shop online!

With the www.easyfundraising.org.uk website, once you've registered, participating retailers will donate a percentage to the school. (Retailers include Argos, M&S, Clarks, Amazon, John Lewis, Next).

HOMELEARNING PROJECTS

OPEN MORNINGS/AFTERNOONS FOR NEW RECEPTION PARENTS

We have two sessions planned for parents looking for a Reception place for September 2018 on Monday 16th October at 11am and 2pm.

PTFA AGM

Last week the PTFA held their AGM and we are delighted that Trudi Webb remains as Chair with Kim O'Connor supporting as Vice Chair. We look forward to lots of fundraising activities and events throughout the year.

EYFS SPONSORED OBSTACLE COURSE

On Wednesday 11th October, the children in Nursery and Reception classes will be taking part in a sponsored obstacle course. The sponsored event provides the opportunity for children to enjoy taking part in the fun activity whilst raising some additional funds which will support the purchase of consumable materials for exciting activities in Nursery and Reception classes across the year. The Nursery event starts at 11am and Reception class at 2.30pm. Parents are most welcome to come along and watch.

HARVEST

Thank you to all parents and carers who joined us at St Andrew's Church last Thursday for our Harvest Service. Our new Worship committee led our service and they worked hard under the direction of our Collective Worship Lead Miss Pearman, to think about what Harvest means to them.

Thank you to everyone who kindly donated a harvest gift. These will all go to the NW Bristol Food bank.

SCHOOL COUNCIL

Last week each class held their School Council Elections. For further details of our new representatives please click here.

PARENT FORUM MEETING

We will be holding our first Parent Forum meeting of the year next week. To find out more about the Parent Forum please follow this link - Parent's Forum.

HOUSE CAPTAINS

Following our elections last week our new House Captains and Vice Captains are: